Blank feeding apparatus



Sept. 19, 1933. H. HANAUER I 1,927,030

BLANK FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Au '8, 1950 a Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

ar z m A TTORNE Y8 Sept. 19, 1933. H. J. HANAUER BLANK FEEDING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1930 134 a 1 Ea 7 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYJ.

Sept. 19, 1933. J. HANAUER BLANK FEEDING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet. 3

Filed Aug. 8, 19:50

I N VEN TOR.

BY W A TTORNEYJ.

Patented Sept. 19, 1933 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in blank feeding apparatuses.

Many types of display cards and advertising cut-outs or cards are provided with easels for maintaining the same in a standing position for display purposes, portions of the easels being glued to the backs of the cards or cut-outs. I-Iere tofore, in forming cards or cut-outs with attached easels it was necessary for anoperator to feed the easels individually to a glue applying device and then cause each easel to be adhered to its card. Obviously, the manual operations of taking the easels singly from a pile and then causing glue to be applied thereto was relativelyslow and laborious.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the pres-- ent invention to Provide an apparatus which will automatically feed individual easels from a stack and cause glue to be properly applied to portionsof each easel. r

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the class described which'may be adjusted to accommodate easelsof different thicknesses and to individually feed froma stack individual easels.

A further object of the invention is to provide a blank feeding apparatus which is of very simple construction, is easily operated, controlled and adjusted, is efficient and expeditious in its .operation, is strong and durable, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved blank feeding apparatus, and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawings in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. l is a side view of an improved blank feeding and glue applying apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a plan view;

Fig. 4. is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 4 l of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more'particularly to the drawings, it will appear that the numeral 8 indicates the frame of the apparatus, which frame may be supported in an elevated position by any suitable means. Said frame is formed with a relatively elongated flat, horizontal bed 9, which bed has formed therein a plurality of parallel, spaced, longitudinally extending upper slots 10. Communicating withthe slots 10 at spaced intervals are vertical slots 10'.

A flat ,slide member 11 is slidably mounted within each slot 10 and said slides are of considerably less thickness than the depths of their slots, and therefore, the top faces of the slides are disposed below the blank supporting ribs or. surfaces 12 of the bed. A slide connecting and reciprocating plate 13 is disposed against the undersurface of the bed and is formed with spaced upstanding bosses 13 which extend into the vertical slots 10' and are longitudinally movable therein. Said plate 13 is rigidly connected to the slides 11 by means of screws or bolts 14 which extend through the plate portions 13 and into said slides. The plate 13 and the attached slides 11 are reciprocated by means of a link 15 which is pivotally attached at one end portion to a bracket 16 depending from the plate 13. The other end portion of said link has-a wrist pin connection 1'7 with a revoluble disc 18 mounted fast on an end portion of a shaft 19. The means for driving the shaft and disc will be later described. Each slide memberfll has detachably mounted on its upper face a blank pusher 20. As shown in Fig. 1, each'blarrk pusher 20 is of a thickness so as to project upwardly from its slide'member 11 only sufficiently far to engage one blank, the lowermost blank in the pile, said blanks being designated by the numerals 21. If blanks of a different thickness are to be used, by means of the bolt and winged nutattaching means 22, thepushers 20 may be readily removed and be replaced by other pushers ofa thickness or gauge suited to the blanks to be fed. In the particular exemplification shown in the drawings the blanks are of a peculiar shape or contour and the pushers are shaped and disposed so as to pushingly envgage rear edge portions thereof.

The horizontal bed 9 of the machine is provided along one side audits front portion with an upstanding hopper 23 of right angular formation anda large pile of blanks is disposed on the surfaceportions 12 of the bed against the inner surfaces of the hopper. To hold the blanks of the pile .or stack in proper alinement and dispositioma yielding frame 24 is provided, which f am ga e side p o o t ac as shown, maintaining the blanks against the hopper. The lower edgeof the front wall of the hopper is spaced sufficiently above the bed ,9 to provide a slot 25 of a height to permit passage therethrough of but a single blank (see Figs l and 4). I

Journaled in a bearing 26 at one side of the forward end portion of the frame of the machine is a short power shaft 27 carrying fast on its outer end portion a pulley 23 which derives motion from a belt 29 extended to a source of power (not shown). There are two mechanisms or instrumentalities which are driven from the power shaft 27, one being the slide connecting and reciprocating plate 13, and theother being the glue applying rollers and the means for moving the blanks thereadiacent. The first of these will now be described.

Drive for the reciprocating plate 13:-Power from the power shaft 27 is transmitted at a reduced speed to a shaft 32 by means of meshing gears 33 and 34 on the shafts 27 and 32 respectively. There is also a trioof upper shafts 30, 31 and 32 all in substantially the same horizontal plane. The intermediate shaft 32' receives rotation from lower shaft 32 by a train of gears 35, 36 and 3'? and the other upper shafts 30 and 31 are revolved fromthe shaft 32 by means of gears 33 and 39 fast onsaid shafts and in mesh with gear 3'? on shaft 32'. Fast on an intermediate portion of the shaft 30 is a gear 40 and said gear transmits rotation to a shaft 41 through the medium of intermeshing gears 42 and 43, the latter being carried by said shaft 41. Also on the shaft i1 is a gear a; meshing with a gear 45 fast on a shaft l6 immediately below shaft ll and shaft i6 also carries a gear 47 meshing with a large gear as fast on a clutch sleeve 49, which clutch sleeve is loosely mounted on the shaft 19 previously referred to.

For the purpose of revolving the shaft 19, when desired, said shaft has keyed thereon a slidable clutch element 50 adaptedto be selectively moved into clutching engagement with the clutch face 51 of the clutch sleeve as. Said clutch element 50 is yieldingly reciprocated or slid on its shaft by means of a bell-crank lever 52 held in normal inoperative position by a spring 53. One end portion of said bell-crank lever has attached thereto the upper end of a rod 54, and the lower end, portion of saidrod is connected to a foot treadle 55.

Normally, all of the gears in the reciprocatory plate drive, including gear 48 on theclutch sleeve 49, idle, with the result that shaft '19 is stationary. However, when it is desired to reciprocate the plate 13 and the slides carried thereby and thus cause the individual forward feeding of blanks, the operator depresses the foot treadle 55 and this will cause the clutch parts 50 and 51 to become engaged with the result that the shaft 19 will then be driven and through the reciprocating mechanism previously described, the plate, slides, and pushers will reciprocate as long as'desired to individually feed forwardly from the stack in succession, as many easel blanks as'are desired. Immediately upon release of the foot treadle the spring 53 will cause the bellcrank lever 52 to move the clutch element 51 to disengaged position, and the reciprocating mechanism and parts associated therewith will cease to function.

The glue applying apparatus includes a glue reservoir 56 supported by the frame in a lower forward position. Said glue reservoir is seated directly on an enclosure or container 57 which .tical screw 59 having a hand wheel 60 thereon for convenience in manually adjusting the ver-' tical position of said glue reservoir.

Depending from the forward portion of the frame of the machine is a bearing 61 in which is journaled a shaft 62. The outer end portion of said shaft has mounted fast thereon a large glue roller 63 adapted to revolve within said glue reservoir. An intermediate portion of said' shaft carries fast thereon a large gear 6 1. A second glue roller 65 is secured fast on an end portion of the shaft 32 and said glue rollers 63 and 65 are in peripheral engagement. A pair of feed rollers 66 and 67 are mounted fast on the shafts 41 and l6 which are in the same vertical plane, and said rollers'have their surfaces ribbed and areslightly spaced apart to permit the passage therebetween of a single easel blank 21. The glue roller 65 extends slightly above the horizontal plane of the space between the feed rollers 66 and 67 and slightly spaced from its periphery are ribbed rollers 68 and 69 mounted fast on the ends of the shafts 30 and 31 respectively. This disposition of the rollers causes a blank, when fed from the rollers 66 and 67 to between the rollers 65, 66 and 68, to bend slightly, as shown in Fig. 4, thus insuring a correct application of glue to a side edge portion of the undersurface of the blank. {is seen from the drawings the shafts ll and i6, and shafts 30 and 31 extend through bearings in adjustable bearing brackets 70 and 71, whereby rollers 66, 68 and 69 may be adjusted to vary the spaces between the same and their cooperating rollers.

Drive for glue applying rollers and feed roZZers':The glue applying rollers 63 and 65 are mounted fast on shafts 62 and 32 respectively. Shaft 32 derives rotation through means previously described in connection with the reciprocatory plate drive. Shaft 63 is driven in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of shaft 32 by means of a gear '12 fast on shaft 32 and in mesh with the large gear on shaft 63.

The operation of the apparatus is quite obvious from the foregoing description. When the motive power to the pulley 28 and power shaft 27 is set in operation, through the various gears, all of the shafts except the clutch controlled shaft 19 will be revolved. Hence, the operation of the glue rollers and feed rollers'is continuous. Easel blanks are stacked in proper order on the bed within the hopper and are maintained in proper alinement by the member 2%. Whenever the'operator desires blanks to be fed, he will depress the foot treadle, and through the clutch arrangement power will then be applied to'the shaft 19 and it will be revolved. The plate 13 and slides and pushers will be reciprocated thereby, and each reciprocation will cause the lowermost easel blank in the stack to be fed forwardly between the rollers 66 and 67. Said rollers propel the. blank forwardly between the rollers 68 and 69 and the glue applying roller 65, which latter roller applies a line of glue to the under-surface of the blank along one side. In this manner a great number of easel blanks may be quickly individually fed through the glue applicator and each blank, after having had glue applied thereto is removed and may be quickly applied to a display card or the like. I

From the foregoing description it'will be seen that the improved blank feeding apparatus is of simple and novel construction, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a sheet material handling apparatus, a stationary bed having mounted thereon a stack of uniform blanks, a slide member associated with said bed, a blank removing member adjustably carried by said slide member to engage the lowermost blank of the stack, pivotally movable yielding means engaging side portions of the blanks for maintaining the blanks of the stack in alinement, and means for reciprocating said slide member and the blank removing member to cause the removal of the lowermost blank from the-stack and relatively to said alinement maintaining means in a direction in the plane of the blank.

HENRY J. HANAUER. 

